Retire On Your Terms

Financial To-Do’s this New Year

Personal finances might be the last thing you want to think about this New Year — especially after all the spending you might have done during the holiday season. However, putting it off will certainly not help. We have a few easy goals you can meet over the course of 2018 to help set yourself up for financial success.

1. Read a book!

Take the time this year to expand your personal knowledge of finance. While there are dozens of books out there about personal finances, we have found a few great book recommendations for you to read this year.

Auto-saving can be a life saver over the course of a year. Rather than having to think about how much you can save each month, turning on an automatic transfer into a savings account can force you to meet your financial goals for the year. If you are afraid you won’t be able to save the amount you turn on, decrease the amount you auto-save each month, and reevaluate each quarter. You will be surprised how much you save each month, and can increase the amount you auto-save each quarter.

3. Reset and realign your budget

While many people have budgets, realigning the budget annually or semi-annually is a necessity. While your long-term financial goals might not have changed, your short-term ones will most likely need to change in order to meet those long-term goals. Take a weekend to run through your budget and see where you might be over or under budgeting in certain categories.

4. Find out what you want

Do you want to purchase a home within the next two years? Go on vacation this year? Lose weight? Take a second to think about what you want, and write it down. These things can have major impacts on your finances; make sure they are reflected in your financial goals.